In industrial applications, Welding operations may involve, brazing, cladding, building up, filling, hard facing, overlaying, joining, laser welding and heat produced by plasma, laser and flame welding and cutting operations heats surrounding components, which may cause these components to operate with less efficiently on head to premature wear or failure. For brevity sake, these welding operations will be referred to collectively as welding. An orbital welder may be used when welding a curved surface. The welder may be moved about the surface or the surface may be rotated while the welder remains stationary. The most common example, where orbital welding is used, is the welding of pipe. Pipe welding may include thin wall applications or deep groove geometries where the welding electrode extends into a groove formed between the two pipes being joined to lay down successive beads of weld material to fill the groove.
For TIG welding a consumable wire is used to lay down the successive beads. The wire is introduced near an electrode with the arc from the electrode melting the wire and creating deposition of the molten metal. Proper alignment of the wire with the electrode in the welding zone is needed to obtain the best results.